The sauce that I was used to serve with the dish on the photo above, was based on the classic French sauce: the sauce vin blanc (white wine sauce). Auguste Escoffier, in the guide culinaire, describes three basic recipes for the sauce vin blanc. Here I will give you his directions for the white wine sauce as well as the one that I was used to make as a base for the seafood sauce that was used to accompany this fish dish.

In a thick bottom saucepan, start whisking the egg yolks with a spoon of fish stock over a medium heat.

Keep working the egg while adding a spoon or two of fish stock from time to time until the sauce thickens and all the fish stock has been used. Make sure not overheat the pot (egg yolks start cooking at 55 degrees celsius).

Then, whisk in the clarified butter as you would do for a bearnaise sauce. Check the seasoning and set aside in a double-boiler until serving time.

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My own version of the white wine sauce goes like this:

1 litre good, clear fish stock.

a glass of good dry white wine.

1/2 litre double cream.

2 long shallots.

few stocks of parsley.

salt and pepper.

In a saucepan, bring the fish stock and white wine to the boil. Add the parsley and the shallots finely sliced and allow to gently reduce by two third.

Add the cream and reduce by half. Strain and check the seasoning.

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